Pentagon Wants to Test A Space-Based Weapon in 2023

[AndrewW]

Defense officials have asked for $304 million to fund research into space-based lasers, particle beams, and other new forms of missile defense next year.

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/03/pentagon-wants-test-space-based-weapon-2023/155581/

 

[phavoc]

Well, that'd be another treaty Trump would have to withdraw the US from (Outer Space treaty prohibits placing weapons in orbit).

 

[AndrewW]

Well, that'd be another treaty Trump would have to withdraw the US from (Outer Space treaty prohibits placing weapons in orbit).

Yup, but he is good at that.

 

[baithammer]

Well there goes his wall budget, almost seems like the pentagon is trying to prevent their budget from being killed.

 

[Condottiere]

I don't think it will happen, because it would go against the interests of those who actually matter to the Senate, and by extension the body that ensures the survival of the current regime, the corporations who have investments and interests in communications satellites.

 

[phavoc]

Bigger question is - will it work? DARPA and the MDA have been twiddling with ballistic missile interceptors for decades. The SM-3 has an anti-missile capability, but so far in all the tests I've read about nobody seems to be doing more than a single missile. Which is great if our enemies aren't going to be tossing out more than one or two at a time. Somehow I don't see that happening.

As far as space-based weapons that aren't missiles (which I think the Soviets violated, or they've done so on film at least ) the only things that countries have been able to successfully deploy? It may be a bit of a stretch for Trump to deploy a usable space-based weapon. We're still waiting on the stuff from the Reagan era!

 

[Condottiere]

Why do you think no one's been back?

 

[Anonymous]

In the short term I think they're worried about a limited strike by a small nation (North Korea?) and the use of (conventional warhead?) ballistic missiles against carrier groups.

Space tech has moved from govt ro private (space-x) and it won't be long before the entry bar to rockets and satellites drops much lower. In the lifetime of the system (most miltary systems last about 30 years) we may see more armed sats, and the possibility of a rogue ICBM. Some years ago many thought a heavy SAM couldn't find it way into the inventory of something that was "not a state", then Malaysia Airlines was shot down.